warnings: some dealings with anxiety, extensive capslock (mic is,,, loud), Izuku Says Fuck

Shinsou, Wakana, and Izuku stand with Mori and Yamazaki in the class 1-C waiting room. Their classmates are milling around, talking about the upcoming event, wishing each other luck. While Izuku's trio are some of the most ambitious, they're not the only hero hopefuls in 1-C: there's Adachihara in the corner, scowling as he stretches his legs. Fukui is doing some jogging in place, warming up with a couple others, and Hamasaki is chatting with a couple students who sit near her, doing their best to psych each other up.

Kita, Wakana's friend, is standing at the edge of the group of five, her arms crossed over her stomach and her face drained of color.

"Hey," Izuku says, stepping closer to her. "You anxious?"

Kita doesn't say anything, just nodding miserably, and Izuku leans over to whisper in her ear, like he's sharing a big secret. "So am I." She looks over at him, blue eyes wide. "There's going to be a lot of people watching, and this is my best chance to make it into the hero course, so I need to perform well! So, really, I'm very anxious, too!"

"You don't look it." Kita's voice is small, strained.

Izuku shrugs. "I've had a lot of practice with anxiety. Would you like some tips?"

Kita nods.

"First thing—don't cross your arms over your stomach! Make big poses instead. That can help trick your brain into thinking that you're not as scared as you actually are." Izuku demonstrates, planting his feet shoulder-width apart and putting his hands on his hips. "The second tip is to breathe into it! Take a deep breath, hold it for a few moments, and then let go!" He demonstrates again. "You want to try?"

She uncrosses her arms, hesitant, and puts them on her hips. She's still a little hunched over, but she widens her feet a bit, and takes a deep, shaky breath.

"And then I also shake out the tension," Izuku adds, taking his hands off his hips to shake them out. "Moving and getting the energy out helps a lot!"

Kita shakes her hands and starts moving, and once she does, she doesn't seem to stop. She starts bouncing in place, and Izuku starts bouncing with her. The two of them are their own little ball of frenetic energy, joined eventually by Wakana, until, soon before they're called to the field, Yamazaki puts her hands around her mouth and yells.

"HEY! CLASS C!"

Everyone stops, all nineteen students turning to look at her. She stands on top of the table, her dark eyes wild as she looks around the group.

"Now, I know we're just here to make the hero course look good," she says, shaking her head. "I also know that there's some of us here that want to make it in there themselves. And, with the first student of 1-A having been expelled recently, there's an open spot that someone in this class is almost certainly going to take."

"It's gonna be me!" Adachihara yells, jabbing his thumb at his chest.

"It could be any of you," Yamazaki replies, glaring at him. "But, even for those of us who aren't aiming for those hero course spots, we should still go out there to win. We're class 1-C! We're not just here to make those hero-course numbnuts look good! We're all here with our own ambitions, our own dreams, our own pride! We're going to go out there and MAKE those hero kids fight for their spots! Let's go beyond, class C!"

"PLUS ULTRA!"

The whole class joins in on the last cry, even Kita, even the half-asleep Akiyama. They punch their fists in the air, and yell, and make some noise.

And, as one, they fall silent as the announcement calling them to the field rings out over the P.A. system.

"Well," Yamazaki says, glaring at the door. "It's go-time. Let's go, Class C!" She jumps off the table, taking her spot next to Mori.

The two girls take the lead, and class 1-C falls in step behind them.

It's blinding and deafening to step out into the light of the field from the dark of the hallway. Many of the students, Izuku included, shield their eyes or cover their ears, but at the front, Yamazaki does not, staring over at 1-A with determination in her eyes.

Those are the students to beat. They, and their counterparts in class 1-B, are the ones Izuku's been studying, learning about their quirks from Mashirao and from his (perhaps unauthorized) spying on their practical heroics exercises.

The arrival of the rest of the first-year classes to the field is quick. Izuku catches sight of Hatsume, the pesky Support Class student, in with Class 1-H, decked out in inventions. The cheers of the crowd are spurred on by Present Mic, screaming at them all over the speakers, until the first years are all assembled in front of the presenting platform.

Even more cheers and yells break out as Midnight steps up to the platform, whip in hand. She's wearing the most recent incarnation of her costume, with the corset, bodysuit, and vents (which is much more practical and, honestly, appropriate for teaching students than any of her previous costumes).

"Quiet, everyone!" She snaps her whip over her head, and the stadium quiets to a murmur. "Representing the students is Bakugou Katsuki from Class 1-A!"

Murmurs break out amongst the students as Bakugou steps forwards. Izuku can hear the things students in 1-A are saying.

"It's that guy?" a girl asks, sounding a little angry at the thought.

"Well, he did place first in the entrance exam!" a boy replies.

Izuku feels someone shift behind him. It's Oshiro, a girl with brown hair and the girl who bragged about scoring second on the entrance exam.

"In the hero course," she spits out, glaring over at class 1-A.

The two students who were talking have the sense to look at least a little censured, ducking their heads and dropping their voices. Oshiro hmpfs and crosses her arms, and Izuku can almost feel the weight of her irritation.

Everyone falls quiet as Bakugou finishes stepping onto the platform. He's slouching, with his hands in his pockets, and taking slow, deliberate steps. He pauses, right before the mic, and everyone falls silent, waiting for him to speak.

"I pledge," he says, "that I will be number one."

There's a moment, and in that moment, Izuku can see the rest of class 1-A groaning and bemoaning Bakugou's action. Then that moment ends, and Izuku can feel Oshiro, and many of the rest of the first years, yelling at Bakugou, booing him. Iida rushes forward, making a big motion with his arm.

"Why are you doing something so disgraceful?" Iida demands, and Bakugou turns around, an entirely apathetic look on his face.

"At least become a nice, bouncy step for me to jump off," he says, giving all the other first years a thumbs down. He walks down off the platform as Tetsutetsu of 1-B rushes forwards, yelling at him.

A small, bitter part of Izuku hopes that someone makes Bakugou eat those words in the most humiliating way possible.

The more competitive part of Izuku wants that to be him.

Just wait, says his inner Aizawa. Remember your strategy.

Remember your strategy.

Your strategy.

The strategy had been hashed out and settled by Izuku, Shinsou, and Mashirao, sitting together in a small tea shop and drinking strong smelling tea. None of them had particularly flashy quirks (Izuku's came the closest, just because its activation had some neat visual effects), so they'd have to rely on something else to get them through. A lot of the hero course students would probably look down on and underestimate Shinsou and Izuku, as general studies students. And, the final fact, Izuku and Shinsou's quirks would work best with the element of surprise.

So, the strategy was simple: play into those and make everyone underestimate them further. The first event was one that would normally eliminate a mass amount of people. The typical number of students to advance from it was, on average, 48, although in past Sports Festivals as few as 26 to as many as 78 had made it through.

To be on the safe side, Izuku, Shinsou, and Mashirao only had to make it in the top 20.

The second event tended to be team-based, so, they'd choose each other (if they were allowed to) and try and make it through by being as uninteresting as possible (with the backup plan being whatever Izuku could come up with on the fly, if that wouldn't work).

And then, as long as they could make it through the second event, they'd be onto the bracket tournament. This was always single elimination, and it was here that the three of them could truly shine.

(Well, as long as none of them get paired off against each other.)

"Now, let's get started!" Midnight retakes command of the crowd, resting her whip over her shoulder. "The first round is what you'd call a qualifier, and this is where many students drink their tears each year! Now, for our fateful first game!" With a sharp snap of her wrist, a screen pops up and a spot on it begins scrolling, finally landing on 'obstacle course', as she turns to read what it says.

"All eleven classes will participate in the race! The course will be the outer circumference of the stadium- about 4 kilometers!" She turns to face the students again, pointing out at all of them. "Our school's selling point is freedom! As long as you stay on the course, it doesn't matter what you do."

"Now, take your places everyone!"

The students rush over to the line Midnight gestures at, all 219 of them. The tunnel they have to run through is narrow, likely the first true obstacle they have to face: getting through the crush of the crowd.

Mashirao seems to be taking his chances at the front, and Izuku reaches out to snag Shinsou's elbow before the taller boy can join him.

"Wait," he says. "Mashirao has his tail to get out of situations. We should start at the back, to see what comes out to play in the tunnel. We don't want to get caught, if Todoroki uses his quirk the same way Mashirao said he did in their first practical."

"Right," Shinsou says, nodding and joining Izuku and most of the management course at the back with one last look at the front.

They end up standing next to a small blond boy who has a little robot on his shoulder.

"I wish they could let us just drop out of the festival," he says, speaking with another student.

"You'd stand a chance if you'd ever get glasses," the other student replies, rolling their eyes. "Your inventions are at least as good as Hatsume's."

"I don't even want to compete, though!"

"They need us to make the hero course's win in this event look impressive," another student replies with a dry voice, and Izuku turns his attention away from them and back to the lights counting down to the start of the race.

Finally, the last light turns off, and as predicted, everyone crashes into the tunnel at once, pushing and shoving at each other.

"OKAY, HERE'S THE PLAY-BY-PLAY! ARE YOU READY TO DO THE COMMENTARY, MUMMY-MAN?"

"You're the one who forced me to come."

Ah, so Yamada had roped his husband into helping and was now calling him names to a stadium of thousands. Classic Present Mic.

And, moments after the majority of the students had entered the tunnel, Izuku's prediction comes true: there's a rush of cold air, and everyone in the tunnel's had their feet iced to the ground.

"Shinsou! Shoulders!" Izuku snaps, running forward and vaulting onto someone's shoulders. Shinsou's nowhere near as graceful about it, but the two of them do some weird mutant crowd-surfing. The students are all pressed close enough together that no one buckles under the sudden weight of one of the two landing and pushing off their shoulder.

"AND WOW! LOOK AT THAT, THOSE TWO ARE LITERALLY STEPPING OVER THEIR COMPETITION!"

Damn it, Mic. Don't call attention to them! At least it's only a small moment, in comparison to the focus Todoroki and the ones at the front who dodged the ice attack got.

The crowd thins out on the other side of the tunnel, many of them there still struggling to get out of the ice. Izuku sees Oshiro and Mori struggling, while Adachihara uses his quirk to spring forward and over the ice.

The two of them leap down from their high path, Izuku rolling to absorb the impact. The ground is iced over for quite a way and Izuku pauses to think.

His quirk could probably completely negate the ice here on the ground. That's a lot of ice, though, and it's helping just as much as it's hindering, considering the vast majority of their competition is frozen to the ground.

It only takes a moment to decide, and Izuku crouches down, pulling the tape off the finger on his right hand and then pressing all five to the ground. With a quick flash of red lightning along the ice, it vanishes, and Izuku takes off running.

"WOAH! WHAT WAS THAT? WHATEVER THAT RED FLASH WAS, TODOROKI'S ICE IS COMPLETELY GONE! WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT?"

Oh, now that's a bold-faced lie. Yamada knows exactly who's responsible.

"Risky play," Shinsou pants as Izuku catches up to him. Izuku doesn't respond, just nodding. He can hear some of the noises of confusion from ahead.

Then, there's a yell, and then more yelling, and Izuku and Shinsou run out in time to see all these big robots appear out of nowhere, a pink girl laying on the ground and groaning nearby.

"The entrance exam robots!" someone yells, and Izuku sighs. Too bad Hiraku's dodging this dose of karma.

"OBSTACLES HAVE SHOWN UP SUDDENLY!"

You don't say, Izuku thinks.

"STARTING WITH… THE FIRST BARRIER! ROBO INFERNO!"

Todoroki is the first to move, judging by the way the front one is suddenly covered in ice. Izuku and Shinsou keep moving forward, far enough back that the way the frozen one is falling won't affect them much.

"TODOROKI, FROM CLASS 1-A! HE ATTACKED AND DEFENDED IN ONE HIT! HOW ELEGANT! HE'S THE FIRST ONE THROUGH! IT'S ALMOST UNFAIR!"

"His actions are logical and strategic."

"AS EXPECTED OF SOMEONE WHO GOT IN THROUGH RECOMMENDATIONS!"

Ah. Well, of course the son of the Number Two would have been through the recommendation exams. If this was the level of competition, no wonder Iida'd had to also go through the open hero exam as well.

Shinsou and Izuku run forward, and Izuku vaults onto the fallen robot with no hesitation… just in time for a 1-A student to burst out through the metal, knocking Izuku off his feet.

"Fuck! Were you under there?" Izuku asks, his eyes wide as he looks the student (Kirishima Eijirou, he puts together using the knowledge from Mashirao and his own observations).

"I'm okay though!" Kirishima shoots him a thumbs-up, just as another student with an almost identical quirk bursts out. Izuku just shakes his head, stands up, and keeps running.

More robots come forward, filling up the space. Shinsou and Izuku are some of the first heading for them, along with members of class 1-A, which includes Bakugou.

Bakugou, who is definitely screaming something about "shitty Deku". Whatever. Izuku's got more important things to worry about.

Izuku dodges the first swing of a robot, diving between it and another and rolling to his feet. He makes his way through playing the dodge game, ducking and weaving and tricking robots into hitting each other out for him. He's making his way through the thick of it, while Shinsou makes his way around the edges, and the hero course students dive right in.

He makes it through and out into the open, with the robots focusing on the students still approaching. By this point, he's tuned out Present Mic and Aizawa's commentary, the world focusing down to just him and this race. He and Shinsou find each other again, running alongside each other until they reach the second obstacle: a canyon, with pillars, linked to each other by tightropes.

There are quite a few students already into it: Bakugou, flying over it with his explosions. Todoroki, gliding along with his ice, and a girl who's jumping along the tight ropes with what has to be a frog quirk (Asui Tsuyu).

And there, at the edge, Power Loaders shining star: Hatsume Mei, who's talking loudly as she readies herself to fly across the chasm.

"See you on the other side!" Izuku yells, kind of accidentally in Shinsou's ear, before turning to run over to Hatsume. "Mind if I hitch a ride?" he asks, not waiting for the answer and just wrapping his arms around Hatsume's shoulders.

"Oh, you're that general studies student who keeps bugging Power Loader! Yeah, sure, why not, it'll just make my babies even more impressive!"

Izuku grins, and hangs on for dear life, wrapping his arms and legs around her as she fires one of her belt grapples and leaps off the edge.

It's wild, exhilarating, thrilling, flying through the air with Hatsume. She's screaming, he's screaming (probably in her ear), and it takes them maybe a minute to get across. They land, Hatsume's hover shoes the MVP in that moment, and Izuku all but falls off her back and onto his feet.

"That," he says, his heart pounding, "was awesome."

"I know!" Hatsume yells. "My babies are the best!"

"Yeah! They are!" Izuku grins, and then they're off, running together towards the third barrier: the minefield.

Hatsume… literally just turns on her hover shoes and takes off, not triggering a single mine. It's that easy, and Izuku stifles a chuckle, imagining Bakugou's reaction to seeing this support student overtake him.

He keeps an eye on it, even as he picks his way through the mines. It's so obvious, the moment that Hatsume overtakes them: both boys stop grappling with each other and then chase after her.

She's not really chasing the first spot, Izuku can tell, considering Bakugou and Todoroki both overtake her. From what he could tell, she had proper equipment to at least delay both of them, and instead didn't.

Smart, considering the fact that winning the first event tends to nerf you for the second event, even if that's just putting a target on your back.

In the end, Hatsume comes in third and Izuku manages a respectable eleventh. Mashirao's in at sixteenth, and Shinsou and Wakana are the last of their little group at twenty-first and twenty-second. Aomi makes it in at about sixtieth, and Izuku wonders if she'd been caught in the tunnel.

Midnight retakes the presenting platform, stepping up to the mic. "The first event of the first-year stage is finally complete! Let's take a look at the results." A screen pops up, with the first 42 on it. "The top forty-two make it onto the next round! It's unfortunate, but don't worry if you didn't make it! We've prepared other chances for you to shine. The real competition begins now! The press cavalry will be all over it, so give it your all!"

She cracks her whip, cuing the screen again. "Now, here is the second game. I already know what it is, but what could it be? What could it be? I just said it, and now here it is: the cavalry battle!"

Midnight explains the event, and, just as Izuku knew there would be, there's a kicker to first place: Todoroki's point value is ten million. Izuku's own point value is 160.

"Now, you have fifteen minutes to make your own teams!"

Izuku turns to Shinsou and Mashirao, who had come to find him after making it through the obstacle course.

"So?" he asks. "Are we teaming up or would the two of you prefer to find another team?"

"Well, we already have a strategy!" Mashirao says, stepping closer to Izuku and ruffling his hair with a hand. "Might as well stick together."

"Great!" Izuku holds up his left hand and Mashirao high-fives him. "Shinsou?"

Shinsou sighs. "While I'm a little pissed at you for running off without me back there—"

"I'm sorry!"

"—We might as well stick together."

"That's great," Mashirao says, pulling Shinsou closer with his tail.

"Alright!" Izuku fist-pumps. "Shinsou, you should probably be the rider! Mashirao and I are—"

"Excuse me."

The three turn. Jirou is standing there, her earphone jacks wrapping and then unwrapping around each other.

"Can I join your team?"

i'd like to warn y'all now that, while this story is pretty lighthearted at the moment, it's gonna take a turn pretty damn fast after the sports festival. i finally figured out kinda the overall story i want to tell with this and it's going some pretty intense places, which include character deaths and stuff.

(a lot of my planning involves "how can i do this But Worse")

so! y'know. shit's gonna get real. let's go lesbians

thank you to everyone who's faved, followed, and reviewed! i appreciate every one of you

(x-posted on ao3, username: orkestrations)